Whenever a suggestion to play Derozan at the SF position gets brought up, the number one reason people point to as to why it should not happen is the belief that Derozan is somehow too small to guard SF's. I've heard it many times on this forum that "Derozan needs to bulk up before he can play the 3".

So I wanted to do a little comparison between DD's physical attributes and some of the other SF's in the league that are known for their defense:

Derozan: 6'7 216lbs

Andre Iguodala: 6'6 207 lbs (known as one of the best defenders in the league at his position)
Luol Deng: 6'9 220 lbs (known as a great defender)
Landry Fields (not one of the best known, but often mentioned as a better choice than demar): 6'7 215 lbs

As we can see from here, Derozan's size is more than adequate enough to defend most SF's. Sure their are going to be some SF's that will be tougher to guard (lebron, paul pierce) but those guys are tough match ups for anyone in the league.

Even a guy like Sefolosha who is known as one of the best wing defenders in the league, a guy who guarded lebron james in the NBA finals is 6'7 215lbs slightly smaller than Demar is.

So I think it is time for us to dispel these notions that Demar cannot play the 3 because of his size, it is simply not true, he can play that position he is at the very least the average size to play it, and at best he is more athletically gifted than most SF's.

Now learning how to play defense is another thing. I am not saying that he is a good defender, simply that size is not an issue for him defending SF. For those that say that he would be even more of a liability guarding the 3 as opposed to the 2, I believe that the SG position is probably one of the toughest positions to guard (after the PG).

In fact seeing as how his long range shooting is well below NBA SG's, but he does have a strong mid range jumper, it might make more sense to park a 3pt shooting threat at the SG (fields) and have Demar play the 3 so he can use his mid range jumper and slash to the hoop.

What do you guys think?

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 08:55 PM

Garbo

I'm glad you posted these comparisons.. I really did believe that Demar was much smaller. When I think Demar I can't picture him bigger than Igoudala

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 09:10 PM

stretch

There are misconceptions about Demar's height. He's actually 6'5.5". Igoudala is a quarter inch taller. His standing reach is two inches greater than DD. Landry Fields is a whole inch taller. I have no measurement stats for Sefolosha.

There are misconceptions about Demar's height. He's actually 6'5.5". Igoudala is a quarter inch taller. His standing reach is two inches greater than DD. Landry Fields is a whole inch taller. I have no measurement stats for Sefolosha.

Casey seems to be pretty keen on Demar playing SF eventually. Remember, Bruce Bowen was only 6'7, and he was one of the best defensive players ever. Also, Demar is more atheletic than Bowen, and still has a lot of growing room. If he keeps bulking up, there is no reason he couldn't do it.
Also, I think Dennis Rodman proved that being tall isn't everything.

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 09:40 PM

stretch

The source is questionable but it says that Sefalosha has a standing reach of 7'2". Demar's is 6'9" according to Draft Express.

draftexpress.com's measurements are also from the NBA which publishes the pre draft measurements of those candidates that show up to the NBA's pre draft camp at the University of Illinois at Chicago (usually). They are official NBA stats and they measure with and without shoes.

Andre Drummond caught some heat at this year's pre draft for wearing shoes that made him a full 2 inches taller.

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 10:15 PM

ReubenJRD

Quote:

SuperRaptor wrote:

Whenever a suggestion to play Derozan at the SF position gets brought up, the number one reason people point to as to why it should not happen is the belief that Derozan is somehow too small to guard SF's. I've heard it many times on this forum that "Derozan needs to bulk up before he can play the 3".

So I wanted to do a little comparison between DD's physical attributes and some of the other SF's in the league that are known for their defense:

Derozan: 6'7 216lbs

Andre Iguodala: 6'6 207 lbs (known as one of the best defenders in the league at his position)
Luol Deng: 6'9 220 lbs (known as a great defender)
Landry Fields (not one of the best known, but often mentioned as a better choice than demar): 6'7 215 lbs

As we can see from here, Derozan's size is more than adequate enough to defend most SF's. Sure their are going to be some SF's that will be tougher to guard (lebron, paul pierce) but those guys are tough match ups for anyone in the league.

Even a guy like Sefolosha who is known as one of the best wing defenders in the league, a guy who guarded lebron james in the NBA finals is 6'7 215lbs slightly smaller than Demar is.

So I think it is time for us to dispel these notions that Demar cannot play the 3 because of his size, it is simply not true, he can play that position he is at the very least the average size to play it, and at best he is more athletically gifted than most SF's.

Now learning how to play defense is another thing. I am not saying that he is a good defender, simply that size is not an issue for him defending SF. For those that say that he would be even more of a liability guarding the 3 as opposed to the 2, I believe that the SG position is probably one of the toughest positions to guard (after the PG).

In fact seeing as how his long range shooting is well below NBA SG's, but he does have a strong mid range jumper, it might make more sense to park a 3pt shooting threat at the SG (fields) and have Demar play the 3 so he can use his mid range jumper and slash to the hoop.

What do you guys think?

Good comparisons there. I think his defensive skill compared to his size is really the only thing I'm worried about when playing the 3. The guy is inconsistent in his effort in playing defense, he was a much better defender in year 2.

I watched an old game against the Cavs in the 2010-2011 season, and man Demar went after every guy he guarded, it just seems like he's taking a step back from that.

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 10:25 PM

IROR

I've definitely fallen victim to this misconception in the past, thanks for the comparisons. What Iggy, Deng, Seflosha et al have that DD does not is the strength in his upper body to guard in the post. This is simply due to the fact that he is still maturing physically...the shift to SF is only a matter of time.

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 11:01 PM

Ambidextrious

Thanks SuperRaptor for clarifying that. however I still think he needs to hit the weights hard this summer because it will pay off big time especially when initiating contact. I would eventually love to see a starting lineup including Ross and Derozan, but I think it will be fields starting alongside Derozan to start the season unless Ross makes a hell of an impression in training camp, which I cant really see happening.

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 11:15 PM

ceez

demar whining about playing SF made me roll my eyes

Mon Jul 23rd, 2012, 11:33 PM

ReubenJRD

Quote:

ceez wrote:

demar whining about playing SF made me roll my eyes

Demar whined about playing small forward?

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 01:05 AM

blackangus

The biggest issue is that Demar is soft

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 01:24 AM

Eric Akshinthala

Obviously size wise according to the research(very nice job) there is no reason why Demar cannot play SF. However, it seems like the coaching staff are reluctant to play him at the SF position. While nobody knows the exact reason, it seems to me that while size is important, one requires the skill to play the position as well. Yes this thread is about his size and I mean no dis-respect by bringing this up. Some of the names mentioned like Iguodala, Deng, Fields. James, Pierce if you notice have other than offensive skills the ability to play good defense and rebound the ball well. Demar is not bad in this department but cannot match those mentioned. Just thought I'd point it out.

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 01:49 AM

NoPropsneeded

ya he's most equipped to play SG and if he figures it out. He could be a dominant SG with all that size and athleticism

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 06:16 AM

Raptor Cowboy

Quote:

IROR wrote:

I've definitely fallen victim to this misconception in the past, thanks for the comparisons. What Iggy, Deng, Seflosha et al have that DD does not is the strength in his upper body to guard in the post. This is simply due to the fact that he is still maturing physically...the shift to SF is only a matter of time.

Defense, and certainly post defense, has nothing to do with upper body strength. It's all lower body/centre of gravity when it comes to pushing people off the block and holding your position. It's why Barkley was so great in the paint..

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 06:34 AM

Nilanka

Quote:

IROR wrote:

I've definitely fallen victim to this misconception in the past, thanks for the comparisons. What Iggy, Deng, Seflosha et al have that DD does not is the strength in his upper body to guard in the post. This is simply due to the fact that he is still maturing physically...the shift to SF is only a matter of time.

Yup, I think strength is the main concern here. Despite DeRozan's weight, he's still not strong enough to power through defenders (on offense), or fight through screens (on defence).

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 06:51 AM

Mediumcore

I think the key thing is that Iggy, Deng, Sefelosha etc.. are good defenders no matter what their size is wheras DeMar isn't. DeMar doesn't handle contact well wheras those other players mentioned invite it. It's not that there is a specific size DD needs to be to be a good defender, but in his specific case it would be better to get stronger in order to attempt to guard the SF position, as it will only help an already poor defender.

One way or another it's going to require a complete dedication to defending for him to have any success at guarding SF. He can have a two inch growth spurt and his reach could somehow get longer, but if you're a poor defender, you're a poor defender.

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 06:51 AM

mcHAPPY

Quote:

Nilanka wrote:

Yup, I think strength is the main concern here. Despite DeRozan's weight, he's still not strong enough to power through defenders (on offense), or fight through screens (on defence).

I would also question the desire to take the beating to do those things. A good part of being a great defender is having the mentality to be willing to sacrifice your body.

Tue Jul 24th, 2012, 07:32 AM

SitnonDfence

Quote:

swingman wrote:

Casey seems to be pretty keen on Demar playing SF eventually. Remember, Bruce Bowen was only 6'7, and he was one of the best defensive players ever. Also, Demar is more atheletic than Bowen, and still has a lot of growing room. If he keeps bulking up, there is no reason he couldn't do it.
Also, I think Dennis Rodman proved that being tall isn't everything.

The difference is they both wanted it.

Derozan's only consistent quality is his lackadaisical approach to the game. But there is no doubt he has the physical tools. I like the kid. I really hope he can put it together.

And there is NO WAY that Iggy is 206. Unless maybe he is like 0% percent body fat. The dude is jacked.